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This course is the foundation course for the Bachelor of Laws programs. It provides students with the introductory skills necessary to then complete remaining law courses. This is a core course in the Bachelor of Laws programs and is approved by the Legal Practitioners’ Admission Board, Queensland.

This course provides students with an introduction to the key skills necessary to undertake their substantive law courses, including knowledge of Australian legal institutions; sources of law (judge made law and statute law); professional identity and the importance of legal ethics; and how to interpret the law (both case law and statute law). This course also includes the development of skills relating to problem solving within the context of statutory interpretation. These skills are explicitly taught and assessed throughout the course. Students will continue to build and develop these skills as they progress through other core courses in the Law program.

On completion of this course students should have covered material and assessment to enable the following areas to be developed:

1. Demonstrate [explain and apply] an understanding of a coherent body of knowledge relevant to the Australian legal system and underlying principles and concepts; the broader contexts within which legal issues arise in this area, and of the principles and values of justice and of ethical practice [suitability requirements for admission to practise] (PO1/TLO1).
2. Demonstrate an ability to recognise and reflect upon (and a developing ability to respond to) ethical issues likely to arise in professional contexts [suitability requirements for admission], an ability to recognise and reflect upon the professional responsibilities of lawyers in promoting justice and in service to the community, and a developing ability to exercise professional judgment (PO2/TLO2).
3. Identify and articulate legal issues relating to the Australian legal system; [comprehend legal and other materials]; apply legal reasoning to generate appropriate responses to legal issues; and engage in critical analysis and make a reasoned choice amongst alternatives (PO3/TLO3).
4. Communicate in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences (PO5/TLO5).
5. Explain the legislative process and identify applicable legislation and delegated legislation, general principles of statutory interpretation, understand [explain and apply] and make appropriate use of authorised aids to statutory interpretation, and deploy appropriate techniques in the course of solving interpretative problems [including problems raising special interpretative issues, and give a reasoned opinion as to the appropriate meaning of a legislative provision and as to the correct application of the provision to a given set of facts] (PO7).
6. Reflect on and articulate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives about the law and the Australian legal system (PO8).